A character needs an alias for some reason and technically ''doesn't'' lie about what their name is... it might be their real name if they're known by a nickname or vice versa, or their maiden name if they're a married woman, or their middle name being used as their first name, but the point is that the character can argue that it ''is'' their real name. Often used by [[KingIncognito disguised royalty]] with {{overly long name}}s, since they can just pick one of their many middle names to be called by.----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* In ''Anime/{{Monster}}'', Nina Fortner uses her previous legal name, Anna Liebert, when giving a police testimony and obtaining marksmanship training.* ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'''s Haruhara Haruko- her name's revealed by Amarao to be Haruha Raharu.* During ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'''s [[MartialArtsAndCrafts Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics]] competition, female Ranma freely gives her full name, confident that nobody in attendance (which includes classmates from Furinkan High) will make the connection with her male side. She's right, and everyone blows it off as a bizarre coincidence. (Although [[ThoseTwoGuys Hiroshi and Daisuke]] would constantly pester Ranma about introducing them to "his sister" afterwards.)* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', Light Yagami expends a lot of effort trying to learn the real name of "L", the GreatDetective who opposes him. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed (although [[AllThereInTheManual not in the manga or anime]]) that L is his ''real'' first name, which raises some FridgeLogic issues...)]]** Of course, Light never hears his last name, so he would have had to spend that effort anyway if he wanted to use the Death Note.* A plot point in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' is that immortals cannot use aliases in the presence of each other: they are always forced to reveal their true names. [[spoiler:Fermet gets around this rule by using portions of his full name as aliases]].* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', the main character and his sister use their real first names and their mother's maiden name for their surname while hidden in Japan.* A weird version occurs in ''LightNovel/ItsukaTenmaNoKuroUsagi'': the vampire サイトヒメア (Saitohimea) takes on the name 沙糸 ヒメア (Saito Himea, Saito being the surname) when attending school with Taito. Though it's technically less of an alias and more of a necessity to have a Japanese name.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

* Franchise/{{Batman}}'s butler Alfred Pennyworth has sometimes used his middle names, Thaddeus Crane, as an alias when undertaking some activity he doesn't want linked to Bruce Wayne.* ''TheDarkPhoenixSaga'' sees Jean Grey being seduced by a mutant named Jason Wyngarde, an aspiring member of the Hellfire Club. It turns out Wyngarde was one of their older and [[AscendedExtra slightly more obscure enemies]], the mutant villain Mastermind, and the ComicBook/{{X-Men}} just never found out his real name. Although he was also a MasterOfIllusion, and thus was able to disguise himself.** Similarly, Mystique often posed as a secret service agent named Raven Darkholme in her early days. Turns out that's her real name. Amusingly, the AnimatedAdaptation of DaysOfFuturePast (with some of Bishop's future thrown in) has a woman looking just like the Raven Darkholme identity, whom Mystique copied, tied up, but ''deliberately left alive'' to be a witness to "Gambit" assassinating Senator Kelly. Presumably, this came before the revelation that there was no "real" Raven Darkholme.** Bishop at one point in the early noughties posed as an Australian police officer under the name "Lucas Bishop," commenting offhandedly in his internal monologue "the name is real, the badge is not." This was TheReveal of his name after over a decade, with "Bishop" having generally been assumed to be an alias.* SpiderMan was cloned, and the clone retained all of Peter's memories, to the point where he originally believed that he was the real one. Eventually the cloned Peter takes the name [[ComicBook/ScarletSpider Ben Reilly]], derived from Peter's middle name and his mother's maiden name (which helps facilitate the story that the two are [[StrongFamilyResemblance oddly identical]] cousins).

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fanfic ]]

* A number of fanfic writers have used the name of the actor who plays the character for an alias, crossing this trope with an ActorAllusion.%% This is not exclusive to fanfic, but it stays in the Fanfic section.* Trixie enters the [[FanFic/PoniesOfOlympus Atlas Strongest Tournament]] in a disguise and under her last name Lulamoon. Twilight recognizes her at the end of her match anyway.* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' fanfic "[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/241889 The Brain Thief]]", Samuel Ramkin Vimes, Viscount of Oxbury and heir to the Duke of Ankh, introduces himself to a girl he meets as Sam Ramkin, thinking "It wasn't, technically, a lie." The girl, meanwhile, is studying midwifery at the Free Hospital as Meg Garlick, rather than Princess Esmeralda Margaret Note Spelling of Lancre.* In ''Fanfic/TheMysteriousCaseOfNeelixsLungs'', Seska uses her real surname while undercover as a Bajoran for the Obsidian Order. After being outed she says her real given name's Jiana, not Harani.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* When pretending to be a handmaiden in ''Franchise/StarWars'', Queen Amidala used her lesser-known non-royal name, Padme Naberrie.** Done by [[{{TheObiwan}} Obi Wan Kenobi]] in the original film, using his real last name, and the nickname "Ben".* John [=McClane=]'s wife at the beginning of ''Film/DieHard'' uses her maiden name, Gennaro. This provides a minor plot point when [[BigBad Hans Gruber]] later discovers John's real name, and doesn't realize the connection between John and Holly (for a while, anyway).* In 1937's ''ShallWeDance'', the two leads, who are both famous under stage names, get married quietly in [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]] under their real names.* The Disney Channel movie ''Motocrossed'' involved a girl posing as her brother to enter a motocross race, after he breaks his leg. The siblings have the same name (Andy, short for both Andrea and Andrew), allowing her a legal loophole: since she signed up as "Andy," instead of Andrew or Andrea, she could hold on to her win after she was outed.* Vicki Lester and Norman Maine in ''Film/AStarIsBorn'' get married under their real names by a town clerk who has no idea who they are.* Film/JamesBond does this quite often, though there are several occasions he uses proper aliases too. Somewhat justified in that officially he is a globetrotting employee for something called Universal Exports, which is actually a cover for [=MI6=]. In ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' he poses as a banker named James Bond and actually has a fake employment record, but is given away as a spy because it is too perfect to be true, and because he was asking too many questions, not because of his name.** Of course, making a number of blatant references about the BigBad's actions ''to his face'' didn't help his case...* A very important plot point in ''Film/DefinitelyMaybe''. TheHero's daughter insists that he tells the story about how he met her mother whom he is now divorced. While doing so, TheHero calls his exes by alternate names to conceal their identity from his daughter who knows her mother's real name. [[spoiler: The daughter then realizes that her dad is still in love with April, one of his exes, because he didn't gave her a CodeName.]]* Played with by way of a CastingGag in ''ToTheLimit''. Secret agent "Collette Dubois" (Anna Nicole Smith) explains at the very end of the film that she's been using a codename the whole time, and that her real name is "Vickie Lynn" - Smith's first and middle names in RealLife. In other words, Smith used (two-thirds of) her real name as a ''fictional'' alias.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': When she runs away to LA, Buffy Summers calls herself "Anne," which is actually her middle name.* In an episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Garak tells Bashir a series of contradictory stories about a person named Elim, supposedly a high-ranking Cardassian official who either betrayed or was betrayed by Garak. Bashir later finds out that Elim is just Garak's first name, and when he confronts Garak and demands the truth, Garak says that ''everything'' he said was true. ''Especially'' the lies...* Christopher Perry [[spoiler:Halliwell]] from ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' called himself "Chris Perry" when he first introduced himself. Since he's [[KidFromTheFuture from the future]] and hadn't been born yet, this didn't really raise any eyebrows. * In ''TheCosbyShow'', lawyer Clair once introduced herself by her maiden name in order to speak on son Theo's behalf when he got ripped off by a T-shirt company.* In ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', Sophie Devereaux once had to conjuer an alias from nowhere or risk losing the mark, so she introduces herself as the Duchess of Hanover. She assures the rest of the team that "this identity is very well backed up" but the mark isn't convinced. He arranges to introduce her to someone who's known the real Duchess since childhood. While the rest of the team are convinced that Sophie's cover is blown, the Duchess's aunt takes one look at Sophie and says.... "Why Charlotte, it's so good to see you."* In BreakingTheCode, the spook from "Security" is John Smith. He can never get anyone to believe that, yes, it IS his real name.* In ''Series/{{Sleepy Hollow}}'', a captured Hessian claims [[spoiler:he knows everything about Abbie Mills, including her real name, Grace Abigail Mills.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In Katharine Kerr's ''{{Literature/Deverry}}'' novels, the character Nevyn (meaning "no one", and hence often taken to be a joke) uses his long-abandoned original name (Galrion) when he needs to be taken seriously by some nobles. Everyone who knows him assumes he just made it up.* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/{{Friday}}'', the title character runs out of fake passports and falls back on the real one to pull a switcheroo with one of the fake [=IDs=].* [[LordPeterWimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey]] uses the name Death Bredon in the Creator/DorothyLSayers novel ''Murder Must Advertise''.* In the novel ''TheSchoolStory'', Zoe pretends to be a literary agent and uses her nickname "Zee Zee" together with a misspelling of her last name.* In ''[[{{Belgariad}} Belgarath the Sorcerer]]'', the eponymous character once used his old name Garath when working undercover. It lasted until he had to use magic to fend off an attack. As well, his daughter Polgara sometimes goes as the Dutchess of Erat, a title she technically owns although the duchy itself has been gone for thousands of years.* In ''The Truth-Teller's Tale'', members of the royal family have secret names that no one outside the family knows. A prince in disguise uses his as an alias. The narrator is a Truth-Teller, who [[LivingLieDetector can detect when someone is lying]], but since it's technically the prince's real name, she doesn't register that as a lie.* The Creator/LMMontgomery short story "The Pot and the Kettle" combines a double use of this with a TwoPersonLoveTriangle.* In ''Literature/TheOrdinaryPrincess'', Princess Amethyst works as a kitchen maid under her nickname, Amy. [[spoiler: The king of the kingdom she's working in does the same thing--she knows the king's name is Algernon, but he uses one of his many middle names.]]* In ''How Not to Spend Your Senior Year'', when Jo and her father fake their deaths and go into witness protection, she uses her middle name and her mother's maiden name to enroll at another school. When the federal marshals who put them in witness protection want her to use a completely fake name, Jo tells them about an incident when she and a friend switched names as a prank on a substitute teacher and couldn't pull it off because they weren't used to responding to someone else's name.* In ''The Goose Girl'', the princess' full name is Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee. When she goes into hiding, she calls herself Isi.* The prince in Sherwood Smith's ''A Posse of Princesses''.* ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': Miles Naismith Vorkosigan spent ten years running top secret operations under the cover identity of Admiral Miles Naismith. Once, on the point of being found out, he covered by pretending that "Admiral Naismith" was his clone, who used his Betan mother's maiden name because Betan law grants clones the legal status of family members.* In ''Spindle's End'', when Katriona and Aunt take in the little princess, they take the last of her many names, Briar-Rose, and decide to call her Rosie.* In ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'', King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden decides to send cavalry to help out his time-displaced American allies, and despite the misgivings of his prime minister puts the 'notably headstrong and reckless' Captain Gars in command. It's only after Gars helps save the Americans from an attack that it's explained to them that his name is an acronym for '''G'''ustavus '''A'''dolphus '''R'''ex '''S'''ueciae - 'Gustav Adolf the King of the Swedes' in Latin.* ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'': ** A regiment composed of [[SweetPollyOliver women dressed up as men]] dress up as washerwomen to get themselves into a fort, and use their real names as their aliases.** Prince Heinrich of Zlobenia claims to be Captain Hortenz when captured. It's been speculated by fans that he has a ''lot'' of middle names, and is pulling the same trick as King Gustav, above.* In ''The Birthday Ball'', Princess Patricia Priscilla dresses as a peasant and goes to the village school. When the schoolmaster asks for her name, she calls herself Pat. ("Quite a short name because I'm [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain merely a humble peasant]].")* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'', the aristocrat-born radical Nortier de Vilefort just goes by the name Nortier. In contrast, his conservative son calls himself de Vilefort. This is plot important, as the direct reason Dantes ended up wrongfully imprisoned, is because he unknowingly told de Vilefort about a letter that incriminated Nortier for treason.* In AndreNorton's ''A Prince Commands'', Michael uses this while passing himself off as the American friend of the prince.* In the sequels to ''EndersGame'', Ender simply goes by his given name of Andrew Wiggin. He is secretive about the fact that he's the same Andrew Wiggin who killed off the Bugger race thousands of years ago, but everyone thinks of that boy as "Ender," and the name "Andrew Wiggin" doesn't ring a bell for them. The few who do recognize the name assume his parents chose poorly when naming him.* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', Harry Dresden goes undercover as Harry the technical assistant. It still fools [[spoiler: Lara Raith]] until he gets into a fight with Thomas. Harry, [[DeadpanSnarker being Harry]], points out [[PaperThinDisguise it really wasn't that hard to see through.]]--> "You're Harry Dresden."\\"Don't feel bad," I said, "I cleverly disguised myself as Harry the Production Assistant."** The trope gets a sort-of inversion in the same book. One of the characters tries to frame Harry, but she's so vapid and shallow that she can't remember his name, telling the cops that his name was Larry. Or Barry.* ''Literature/CodexAlera'', [[JimButcher by the same author]], has [[spoiler: Gaius Oc'''tavi'''an]]. And you thought the name was out of place amongst the AwesomeMcCoolname crowd.** Tavi is named Tavar among the Canim. At first, he thinks it's a poor pronunciation of his name. Then it's revealed that a Tavar is the only hunter the Vord fear. It's a multilingual StealthPun RealNameAsAnAlias.* In the western novels of Creator/JTEdson, Dusty Fog frequently uses his middle names Edward Marsden as an alias; to the point that they become his GoToAlias.* In ''[[Literature/ElementalMasters Unnatural Issue]]'', Lord Peter Almsley temporarily takes on the post of gamekeeper at the estate of his friends, with his valet Garrick as his scholar half-brother, in order to befriend Susanne (working as a dairy maid) and find out more about her. While in disguise, the two go by Peter Devlin (Devlin being Peter's middle name) and Clive Garrick (Clive being Garrick's).* In ''[[Literature/CiaphasCain For The Emperor]]'', Inquisitor Amberley Vail goes undercover as an entertainer named Amberley Vail. She also uses her real last name for two different undercover identities in ''Duty Calls'' -- the Lady haut Vail near the beginning of the novel, and Corporal Vail near the end. Possibly justified, in that anyone who can legally look at a roster of active Inquisitors already knows where she is and what she's doing, and she can kill anyone else who might blab.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling ]]

* In Wrestling/{{WWE}}, Shawn Michaels' mid-2009 absence was explained by him taking the job of a [[strike:[[LessEmbarrassingTerm cook]]]] chef at an office complex under the last name of Hickenbottom - that being Michaels' real-life last name.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

* A classic ''ForgottenRealms'' character was Elminster's scribe (and butler, and apprentice) Lhaeo who was a great artist at building JerkassFacade for Old Mage. "Coincidentally", this work left him both [[SeenItAll ready for anything]] and acquainted with half or so of the most powerful people on the continent. There also was a missing prince of Tethyr, one '''H'''aedrak '''E'''rrilam '''A'''lemander '''O'''losar '''L'''horik... later also known as King Haedrak III. If his compatriots knew where he is before it was time to pull RightfulKingReturns, he would get about as much attention from assassins as Elminster from mad wizards.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

* In Shakespeare's ''Theatre/HenryV,'' King Henry goes undercover as a common soldier to learn the views and morale of his troops more closely. He gives his name to the soldier Pistol as "Harry Leroy" (Harry being a common nickname for Henry, and ''le Roi'' being French for "the King"). He says he's a Welshman--he was born in Wales.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Frank, the first NPC you meet in [[GaiaOnline zOMG!]], is actually [[spoiler:Labtech 123]]; no official statement has been made, but the general assumption is that "Frank" is in fact his real name.** Pretty much confirmed by one of the H2k10 [=NPCs=], who has mentioned him by name.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Visual Novels ]]

* Played directly in ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'': near the end of the game, it's mentioned that [[spoiler:Clover's real name is... Clover.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': In the episode "Imposter's Home for Um... Make 'Em Up Pals" this happens with two characters: Goofball John [=McGee=] and John Larry [=McGee=], Goofball's owner.** Goofball is introduced by his first name. When Frankie overhears a group of kids calling him "John," she believes she has more proof he is not an imaginary friend. Goofball explains that it is his middle name and that he is named after his owner, Larry. He then tacks on another explanation that "Larry" is his owner's middle name.* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans,'' Cyborg infiltrates the HIVE by donning a hologram to make him look human until he "powers up" into a rocklike form. He calls himself "Stone." His real name is "Vic Stone" [[MythologyGag in the comics]].** There's also Slade, whose real name is Slade Wilson. In the original comic his alias was Deathstroke the Terminator.* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Man Who Killed Batman", Harley Quinn masquerades as the lawyer of the episode's titular character, using the name Harleen Quinzel. Later, the episode "Mad Love" would confirm this as her actual name.* On ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy,'' Peter Griffin once tried to pull of a LineOfSightName. The first three things he saw were a ''pea,'' a person crying one ''tear,'' [[RuleOfFunny and a]] ''[[UnusuallyUninterestingSight griffin]]'' that flew in through the window.* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', Artemis' real name is... Artemis Crock.** Giovanni Zatara fights crime as the superhero... Zatara. Even his daughter, Zatanna, calls him that when she's referring to him specifically as a hero. When she takes up heroing permanently, she goes by her given name.* The ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "Cinemaniacs!" has [=SuperBabs=] from the segment of the same name.-->'''Hamton:''' I wonder who [=SuperBabs=] really is.-->'''Plucky:''' Well, let's see... [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Who do we know called Super?]]* The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' whose real name is Danny Fenton. This is lampshaded in "The Ultimate Enemy".--> '''Dark Danny''': Hello? "Danny Fenton"? "Danny Phantom"? Ever noticed the similarities?* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012,'' [[DaddysLittleVillain Karai]] cozies up to [[TheChick April]] using the fake name Harmony, a translation of [[spoiler:her birth name, Miwa]]. Played with, in that Karai [[spoiler:didn't know that Miwa was her real name]].* ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'': When Sally travels back in time and meets her past self, she introduces herself as "Alicia". Past Sally comments that's her middle name.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* British DJ Kenny Everett (real name Maurice Cole) once did a promo which ended with the words "...or my name isn't Maurice Cole!" The joke being that most of the listeners wouldn't have known his real name at the time.* Many famous women continue to use their maiden name after marrying, since they're already well-known and changing names might confuse fans. For example, Creator/JKRowling continued to use her maiden name after becoming Jo Murray.** Creator/JulieAndrews uses her maiden name for her film work and her married name (Julie Edwards) for some of her novels.* It's quite common to use one's first and middle name as a StageName. One prominent example would be Tim Allen (born Timothy Allen Dick).** Another would be Angelina Jolie (Voight).** Ray Charles (Robinson)[[note]]He dropped his last name at the start of his music career so people wouldn't confuse him with boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson, who was then in his prime. Ironically, "Ray Robinson" is itself a pseudonym; the boxer was born Walker Smith, Jr.[[/note]]** StanLee was worried that making a name for himself in comics would hurt his chances of becoming a serious writer, so he split his first name in two; his real name is Stanley Lieber.** [[AliceInWonderland Lewis Carroll]] is a special case - the name is actually Charles Lutwidge Dodgson's real first and middle names [[RecursiveTranslation translated into Latin, and then back again into English.]]* Willem-Alexander, then Prince of Orange and now King of UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands, ran in the New York Marathon under the name "W.A. van Buren." "Van Buren" is a lesser known title of the Dutch royal family.** Likewise, Czar Peter the Great of Russia used the name "Pyotr Mikhailov" (Peter Michaelson) as an alias abroad. He was grandson of Czar Michael I Romanov. * WWII AcePilot Major Heinrich Prinz von und zu Sayn-Wittgenstein used just his rank and surname "Wittgenstein" in everyday communication.* A joke about pop singer Jack Jones went: "Did you know that Jack Jones is his real name?" "Jack Jones is WHOSE real name?"* Law enforcement personnel going undercover often use their real first names so they won't seem suspiciously slow in responding.[[/folder]]----